Make sure your kids heed this expert advice while behind the wheel

Texting and driving has been all over the news, which has increased awareness of the problem of distracted driving. Knowing is half the battle, but how do you actually prevent your teen, who is at a bigger risk of a crash because she's an inexperienced driver, from becoming a statistic? "Looking away from the road is a principal contributor to road crashes. In a yearlong study, 80 percent of crashes and 69 percent of near-misses were caused by drivers looking away," says Louis Tijerina, senior tech specialist with Ford Active Safety Research.

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Here's how to keep your kids safe:

1. When you're driving, you're driving. No multitasking allowed—ever. Only passengers can talk on the phone, text or change the music.

2. Don't reach. "Secure items that move around when the car is in motion, like purses and cell phones," says AAA spokesman Troy Green.

3. Get a talking GPS. They reduce the number of times the driver has to glance at the screen.

4. Look ahead. "Novice drivers tend look close up and at the lane lines," says Tijerina. Reinforce to your teen that he should scan for problems by looking farther ahead down the road to see the whole picture of what's going on.

5. Be a role model. Kids learn from watching their parents. All of these rules apply to adult drivers as well.

6. Go to class. Ford runs Driving Skills for Life (DrivingSkillsforLife.com), hands-on program that teaches skills like how to safely come out of skid, offers a cone course with distractions, and in some cases even provides special goggles that simulate intoxication, giving your kid an understanding of these situations.